February 28, 2006

In 1916, the Dada Manifesto was written and its concepts burst into flames from the sparks of the first World War. Dada is considered an avant-garde revolutionary movement in art that concentrated on anti-art. Rather than beauty, Dada gave it no regard. Rather than meaning, Dada meant nothing.

I have a hard time with the Dada Art Movement. It just seems like a bunch of posers got together and decided that they would devise the one answer to the question they always get:

“What does it mean?”

“Nothing.”

Still, my skepticism doesn’t change the fact that a lot of art was created under this movement and it spawned the Surrealism Movement, which meant so much more than the eye could see. There is a huge Dada art exhibit touring the world right now.

Robert’s tips to help you remember your vacation vividly are condensed here:

Carry a pen and small pocket notebook: Take the time to relax and write down what you experience at each site.

Document your five senses: the sounds, smells, sights (photos), touch and tastes of the place. If you depend on just your photos, you only get one of those five senses.

Document the other three sense: The visceral sense, or how you feel in your gut. There is also the clerestory sense, which is how open or light the place feels. Finally, there is the kinescopic sense, meaning the sense of movement.

These are very good ideas to help you remember more than just how things looked. You spent a lot of money on this vacation, do everything you can to remember how it felt to experience that new place. You deserve the most vivid memories.

February 23, 2006

With cryptic promotion like this fuzzy Q advertisement, Avenue Q didn’t have a chance. It wasn’t like Wynn didn’t support the Broadway show, it’s that the advertisement was so mysterious that the typical Las Vegas tourist didn’t have time to solve the puzzle. What went through my head was, “Hmm, that taxi is covered with orange fur. What IS Avenue Q? Must be some strip show.” It IS Vegas, afterall. Most of the shows there ARE burlesque. How was I supposed to know that it was an acclaimed Broadway show with… um… raunchy puppets?

The Avenue Q show at the Wynn hotel is closing to make way for Spamalot, another musical hit from the Monty Python guys. There are so many musicals that came from Broadway in Las Vegas that it bothers me a little bit. Las Vegas isn’t the western Broadway. Las Vegas is its own animal with the ability to create its own live entertainment. They don’t need to borrow from New York. What works in New York, might not work in Vegas, as so aptly demonstrated by Avenue Q.

I wish the casino owners of Las Vegas would stop trying to be a cheap imitation of New York and let the city be a great version of itself. Las Vegas has what New York and Broadway could never have. Ironically, if Avenue Q had been a strange and fuzzy strip show, it probably wouldn’t be replaced with Spamalot right now.

When Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Olympics, my city was suddenly in the spotlight. Mike and I had decided to go to Hawaii during the Olympics to avoid the crowds. No matter who we talked to, they were all entralled that we were from Salt Lake City. My home town felt popular for something besides its dominant religion.

I’m sure the residents of Turin feel the same way right now as they vacation far away from the snow and ski jumps. Suddenly their city is in the news for something other than the Shroud of Turin.

He has plans to visit the cities who have hosted the Olympics in honor of Being’s 2008 Olympic hosting. I have fantasies about traveling around Europe on a bike, but this takes bicycle touring to a new level. When I am riding on my bicycle, the whole world is smaller and I see things that I wouldn’t have seen rushing by in a car. That’s why travel like that is appealing to me.

That said, I have ridden in a car along I-80 and the strip from Wendover to Reno is an empty expanse of life-endangering heat in the summer and cold in the winter. I’m sure the rest of the world has its own expanses of desolation. It doesn’t say in the article whether he will come through Salt Lake City, but if he does, I’ll be there, cheering him on!

“I’ll travel and speak to people around globe, telling them how Chinese are in favor of the notion of Olympism – friendship, solidarity, and peace. I’ll record 2,008 wishes for the Beijing Games from 2,008 people during my trip and send them to the Games’ headquarter in Lausanne (Switzerland).”

I don’t really agree with the premise of the article, which is we all travel on airplanes so frequently that it no longer is something we dress up for anymore, so you need to pay close attention to your apparel. I find that travelling with my trusty VW Beetle much more enjoyable than flying, but somehow, I can’t find the right Interstate to take to get to Hawaii.

Here are the tips from the article:

Check the weather for your destination ahead of time so you know what to expect.

If you are flying to a vastly different climate zone, make sure to take proper clothing with you in your carry-on luggage so that you’re not freezing in Boston or sweltering in Hawaii.

Remember that the temperature in the airplane cabin might not be to your liking, so wear layers that can be added or removed if things are too hot or cold.

Remember that if an emergency occurs and you are lucky enough to survive, you’ll be on national television. Dress for it. Wear clean underwear in case you don’t survive.

Don’t expose a lot of skin. You never know who sat on your seat before you.

I remember leaving my coat in the VW Beetle long term parking in Salt Lake City the day we flew to Hawaii. It was almost a blizzard, but I knew that my heavy coat would be a burden on Kauai. I stood shivering for five minutes waiting for the shuttle to take us to the airport and questioned my decision. It wasn’t until we came back from Hawaii that I realized that my decision was unwise. We shivered the entire shuttle ride back to the Beetle, but when we got to the car, it was almost frozen shut. My coat was a sorry excuse for warmth after almost two weeks freezing in the Salt Lake City cold.

If you are travelling to a remote area where medical care isn’t as advanced as you are used to, travel insurance can evacuate you quickly so you can get the health care you need. This sounds like a good idea for people who might be ailing, but still wish to travel.

February 16, 2006

Mike and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium when we visited San Francisco for the first time back in 1997. We took our friends south of the city to Monterey Bay in our VW Golf. It was a drive of about two hours, but it was worth it to see the Kelp Forest and Sea Otters.

Back then, we didn’t have a digital camera, so there are no pictures of our trip, but the visit stays so clear in my memory. I loved watching the sea otters being fed and squirmed around the crowds to watch them eat. Now, they have a live sea otter cam where you can watch them all day long.

The aquarium has a wide array of online exhibits if you are unable to travel to California to see them. Take an hour or so and view their website. You’ll come back feeling like you’ve taken a quick vacation from your life.

February 15, 2006

This sandwich board stopped my power-walk home from the gym dead in its tracks. I stopped my chronograph and grabbed my camera out of my bag. I started taking pictures and looking for the cafe.

Across the way from the raw food bar and next door to the oxygen bar, sits Great Grains Cereal Bar. You can walk in and have a bowl of cereal. That’s all they sell is cereal. There is a chain of these specialty cafes called Cereality, but Great Grains has nothing to do with them. They are a home-grown cereal bar, just like we like our quirky restaurants.

When you walk in, you’re confronted with a long line of cereal choices. You can purchase a big bowl or a small bowl and you get to mix your cereal from your favorites.

They also have a selection of hot cereals for a total of twenty to choose from. You can top your cereal off with a wide variety of fresh fruits and flavored milks. There are so many choices, I can almost feel my mind locking up right now.

If your brain does lock up at all the choices, there are some suggestions on the wall to spark your imagination. Depending on your toppings and bowl sizes, a good bowl of cereal will probably cost you between 1-3 dollars.

They also have juice, coffee and hot chocolate for your drinking needs (not to mention the wide variety of flavored milks). You can sit down with a hot cup of coffee and a bowl of Raisin Bran with mango flavored milk.

When my sister told me about the Cereality in Chicago, I wanted to try the place out. I was jealous that they were going to Chicago without us. Here we are, the crazy Metropolitan trends are coming to our town today. We have our own cereal bar, who needs Chicago?